I just realized that when people talk about us being the modern day Roman Empire in its decline, they had the right point but missed the target. It's "old Europe" that far more closely resembles the dying Empire.
Like decaying Rome, you have a center with a declining birthrate demanding its bread and circuses to keep the masses happy. The modern European welfare state. And that declining birthrate meant that you saw a demographic barbarization of the Empire, in addition to just plain old invasions. Just like they're seeing now. They really don't have the guts to fight off the barbarians -- they just buy them off with appeasement.
And other attitudes are similar as well. The late-Empire Romans feared more vigorous cultures, looking upon them as somewhat uncivilized and not respecting their "betters". That's how they looked at the Franks, etc. And that's kind of how they look on us. Loud, uncouth, too strong for our own good, and just not as "sophisticated" as they are.
They're circling the drain, dude.
If Rome had had a vigorous birth rate, the result would have been Romans expanding into the lands of the barbarians (and killing them off) rather than the other way around
The Roman welfare system allowed a man to contemplate survival by just continuing to consume the free welfare bread, rather than by raising many sons to farms his homestead in his old age
It was the lack of Romans which doomed Rome